Sergio Perez started the 2023 season on a strong note. The Red Bull driver grabbed two victories at the Saudi Arabian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix respectively. However, the Mexican’s win at Baku infuriated Max Verstappen, according to his father, Jos Verstappen.
On the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok revealed the contents of a conversation he had with Jos Verstappen. After the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, Max reportedly fumed while he proclaimed, “He’s [Perez] never going to beat me again!”
SERGIO PEREZ WINS THE 2023 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
What a drive Checo to get his 5th win for Red Bull
He is also the first ever F1 driver to win twice at Baku!! pic.twitter.com/D7rw5qZkjB— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) April 30, 2023
Perez started the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the second row of the grid while Max started second. However, a pit stop for Max and an immediate safety car meant that Perez took the lead in the race. As the chequered flag fell, Perez defeated Max by a margin of just two seconds.
Baku would actually be the last time Perez got the better of Max as the Dutchman fulfilled his prophecy. Chandhok remarked, “He (Max) was really pissed off and said Pérez would never beat him again, and that turned out to be true.” In the end, Max registered an insane 19 race wins in a 22-race calendar, while Perez just won two races.
Max Verstappen destroyed Sergio Perez and the rest of the field in 2023
After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Max Verstappen won every single Grand Prix barring the 2023 Singapore GP. While doing so, he broke several records and even won an unprecedented 10 races on the trot. Moreover, his haul of 575 points alone were enough to wrap the Constructors’ Championship in Red Bull’s favor.
On the other hand, Sergio Perez suffered a dismal season thereafter. Not only did Perez not win a single race after Baku, but also his season was maligned by poor qualifying performances that saw him knocked out in Q1 and Q2 multiple times in arguably the fastest car on the grid.
2023 SEASON – VERSTAPPEN VS. PÉREZ
Average qualy position: 3.00 – 9.09
Median qualy position: 1 – 9
Qualy head to head: 20 – 2Mean race position: 1.27 – 4.50
Victories: 19 – 2
Podiums: 21 – 9
DNFs: 0 – 2
Race head to head: 18 – 2*
Laps in front of each other: 1051 – 165… pic.twitter.com/sZG2qGwc69— Holiness (@Big_Data_Master) December 1, 2023
In the aftermath of the season, Perez seemingly blamed the car for his poor run of form. He was quoted by The Race as explaining, “As we started to develop the car, it felt like the car went away from me, and I had to start chasing always the balance and compromise, [I was] having to make some compromises here and there.”
Perez may have escaped with some of his underperformances this season, but he cannot afford to have such a gap to Verstappen come 2024. If the Mexican is to retain his seat beyond the 2024 campaign, he will need to ensure that he is more competitive than he was this year.
